


Consequences

by levergames



Series: Marionette (SuperYogs) [1]
Category: The Yogscast
Genre: Gen, SuperYogs AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-03-06 13:47:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3136655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/levergames/pseuds/levergames
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Lalna became L.A.L.<br/>Based off the SuperYogs AU which can be found at asksuperyogs.tumblr.com</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Four Things

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy, I tried to keep as close to the canon of the AU as possible.

Really, it was his fault. Honestly it was just a culmination of all the stupid, careless things he had done that morning. He was going to die because of his mistakes. And not just him. Nano too. Nano was going to die and so was he and it was all his fault.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

How could he have been so careless? Four things. A combination of four idiotic things were going to kill him. Well… he only had himself to blame really.

1\.   Last night

His mind was fogged by drink as he sat in the darkness of Rythian and Zoeya’s home, if you could honestly call it that. The place had a strange, heavy feeling about it. Like a thick tension. That and the sense that something would go wrong at all times, but that was just a side effect of being friends with supers. So, it was not as comfortable as the word home would imply, but it was certainly much safer than the average house. Lalna himself had seen to that.

Lalna brought a can of cheap beer to his lips and tilted his head back. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he drank half the can in one. He could feel Rythian’s gaze on him even as he lowered his drink. With lightly closed eyes Lalna said, “Yeah, I know I should slow down. We don’t want a repeat last time.”

He opened his eyes, even though he didn’t really need to. He already knew that the ‘human’ side of Rythian’s face would be pulled back into a half-embarrassed half-reminiscent grin. Rythian's eyes glanced down at his arm where the small enderman holding a heart branded him as having one too many drinks with Lalna that night. Lalna had one as well. An embarrassing drunk tattoo of a chicken on his wrist.

“Yeah.” Rythian replied, looking into his own can of beer.

“Hey Ryth?” Lalna asked. Unsure whether he should voice the thoughts that had been swimming in his head all day.

“Hmm?”

“Y’know… I umm…” Lalna’s tongue didn’t seem to want to voice the elegantly thought out speech in his head, “Never mind.”

“What?” Rythian leaned forward, looking at him quizzically.

“I just…” Lalna’s tongue flitted out, nervously brushing the inside of his lips, “Do you think that I’m… worthless?”

Rythian fixed Lalna with a hard stare. He looked like he was debating something. “Of course you’re not worthless. You built this base, you saved Zoeya...”

_‘You hesitated’_ Lalna thought. He kept quiet though. It was true that he had saved Zoeya, but it wasn’t like he was the only one in the world who could have done that. Not like Rythian who, as far as he knew, was the only half-enderman in the world. Lalna didn’t have any powers like Sipsman or Sjinergy. He couldn’t even fight like Tawny or Miniata. He was just a chubby science geek. “But I don’t have any powers.  I can’t fight, I can’t help anybody. I’m… I’m a nobody.”

Rythian opened his mouth and Lalna waited for his next words. He knew Rythian would try to comfort him, to tell him that he wasn’t a nobody and all the work he did in his lab would help people. But then Rythian closed his mouth and Lalna felt like he had just been punched in the gut.  Did Rythian agree? Did Rythian think him a nobody? Useless, stupid Lalna who he only spoke to out of pity?

Lalna stood, his face screwed up in fury, “Fuck you Rythian. FUCK YOU. I don’t have cool powers like you, I know that. You don’t have to hang out with me, you know that right? If you think I’m a useless nobody, you don’t have to humor me.”

Lalna stood for a moment, expecting to be contradicted. He expected Zoeya to all of a sudden come home and tell him he wasn’t worthless or Rythian to stand and yell at him. Instead, Rythian sat in silence, just looking up at him.

Then Lalna stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Before he knew it, he was in the corner of his pantry, a bottle of what smelled like vodka in his hands. He took a long drink, wincing as it stung his throat.He knew he would regret this when he woke.

* * *

 

The next morning Lalna felt like a frying pan had conked him over the head. It wasn't the worst hangover he had ever had, but it was certainly bad enough that he wasn't paying any attention as he walked down the street. Some how he did

2\.   Not notice one of DoG’s henchmen

Following him as he stumbled blearily down the street and to his lab. Lalna, his brain working sluggishly off of coffee, yawned loudly, head pounding in time to his heart beat as he

3\.   Set his communicator down

And

4\.   Forgot to activate the security system

When he entered.

“Hey Lalna!” Nano, his apprentice/assistant/best friend, greeted. She took a sip of tea out of a mug labeled ‘#1 Apprentice’. Lalna had bought it for her before avoiding her for a three days out of sheer awkwardness. “Rough night last night?”

Lalna shrugged in response. Nano knew him better than anyone and anyone would be able to tell how he had spent last night.

She sighed and fixed him with a look. “You know, I am your friend, if you need to talk about anything, I’m right here.”

“Nah, I’m fine,” he waved her concerns off with all the false bravado in the world, “Besides, there’s science to do.”

“Fine, but do you want me to at least make you some coffee or something?” Nano asked, rolling her eyes.

“Sure. Just black coffee.”

She shook her head, already halfway to the small kitchen. “You act like I don’t know your hangover cures by now.” She continued past the signs that had been put up a few weeks earlier with the bold red message ‘NO SCIENCE BEYOND THIS POINT’ then below in smaller black text ‘We are not buying a new microwave again.’

Lalna could hear rummaging while Nano busied herself with finding a mug. The familiar scent of strong coffee wafted about the room and Lalna paused, “You know what? Can you put a bit of whiskey in there?”

“Fine. But you’ll just be prolonging the inevitable,” Nano called back.

Crash.

Scream.

Kerthunk.

Thump.

“Nano?” Lalna called, approaching the kitchen with caution. It sounded like she had broken a mug, and screamed, smashed into something, and fell to the floor. What the hell?

When Lalna reached the doorway he could see why Nano had screamed. A man wearing a dirty coat, unmistakably embroidered with the DoG insignia, was lying on the floor, bleeding from his head. An out of breath Nano stared at Lalna with wide eyes, clutching a bloodied fire extinguisher.

“Lalna,” She said through pants, “Did you turn the security system on?”

Lalna’s face went purple. He shook his head.

“Notch damn it Lalna!” she screamed at him. Nano dropped the fire extinguisher with a loud thunk. “We need to get out of here.”

She grabbed his arm and started to pull him. Lalna did not move. Nano stared at him. A cocktail of confusion, fury and exasperation fell upon her face. “Lalna,” she said in an even tone, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to end up dead. Hurry up.”

Lalna just stood there for a moment. Then he said, “Nano, there's some stuff here that we cannot leave behind.”

“Like what?” Nano hissed at him.

“You know those vials that I’ve been working on?”

Nano nodded.

“We can’t let DoG get his hands on them. They could, if they work I mean, well... it could be pretty bad.”

Slap.

Nano’s hand swung and smacked Lalna hard about the face. “Hurry up and go grab them then,” She hissed.

Lalna swallowed hard, rubbing his reddening cheek, “Right”. He hurried across the lab to a rack of corked test tubes, each with a label, SS-1, SS-2 and SS-3. He grabbed them, stuffing the vials into his lab coat pocket. He also took the notebook containing notes on the varying vials.

“Hurry the F up Lalna!” Nano yelled, grabbing him by the arm and running to the door. With a great scraping noise the hinges snapped and the door fell to the floor. DoG himself stood in the doorway, while his minions seemed to pop out from every possible entrance.

A brief thought of _'Well, I can’t be that useless if DoG is going through this much trouble to kill me'_  passed through Lalna’s mind. Then panic seemed to rise from his humming heart to his constricting throat and finally to his fogging brain.

“Lalna,” Nano whispered, “What do we do?”

Lalna swallowed, or tried to swallow. His throat was too tight. How in hell was he supposed to take on (two on this side and that’s roughly a half, so four? No, there were surely more behind than in front, probably more like six. It sounded like about six) six of DoG’s minions and the man himself.

“Lalna, I need you to focus.” Kim said. She had backed up into him. She must be able to tell how fast his heart was beating at this close proximity.

He nodded and reached into his pockets, feeling for anything valuable. Sharp objects? Dull objects? Anything? The vials he held were too precious to throw. Maybe he could just hit them? DoG’s forces were fairly resilient, but it was all he could do.

He turned to the first goon, swung his hand back and sent it as hard as he could into the man’s chest, winding him. Within seconds two more of DoG’s men were on Lalna. They didn’t seem to be holding guns. Did DoG want to kill them himself?

Lalna ducked one punch, but then he felt a heavy weight on him. Someone was on top of him. He tried to throw him off. The goon on his head shifted half off of him, but not enough for him to stand, and certainly not enough to dodge a kick made by a second man. Lalna’s leg folded underneath him. His knee smashed into the floor and there were hands on his back, forcing him onto the ground.

Lalna could hear Nano shouting somewhere to his left. “GET OFF OF HIM! GET OFF!”

It sounded like Nano had taken his lead and was fighting. Lalna knew he wasn’t getting out of this, but the least he could do was get Nano out. He kicked out, making contact with someone’s face. Maybe if he could just grab his communicator from the counter. Then the supers would be alerted. Lalna pulled his arms out of a grip and pushed himself to his feet.

A hand gripped tightly on his shoulder and Lalna turned, fist already following the turn of his body. Underneath the mask all DoG’s men wore Lalna could hear the crunch of bone as he smashed the man’s nose before kicking him hard in the shin. Lalna pushed the goon onto the ground and cast around for the small communicator. No sooner had he spotted his objective than the room stilled around him.

Lalna couldn’t move. Only his eyes wanted to obey him, and they shifted to look at Nano, who looked just as panicked as he did. A distorted voice rang out from beneath DoG’s helmet, “No more of this nonsense.”

Possibly the most powerful supervillain Mistral City had ever faced stood before him and he could not move. DoG stepped towards them. “The scientist and his apprentice,” he held the ‘s’ sounds longer than necessary while the faceless mask scanned them both, “You’re coming with me.”

Perhaps something hit him. Perhaps he just collapsed. All Lalna could be sure of was that his last thought before it all went black was that he and Nano were going to die, and it was all his fault.


	2. Eye Contact

Lalna pulled his eyes open. His gaze drifted around an unfamiliar room that seemed to shift oddly around him as his vision swam. He closed his eyes again. His head hurt. It hurt like hell. Probably a hangover. Lalna tried to turn over, but couldn’t. He opened his bleary eyes and looked over at his hands. Thick bands strapped him in place. He tried moving his leg and sure enough, there was a similar cuff around his ankle.

“Good morning, Lalna.” A voice he knew well spoke. Cool breath tickled his ear. This had to be a dream now. Strapped to a surgical table with the Mayor standing over him? Not like he’s never had this dream before, but this was so vivid. So real. 

“Mmm?” Lalna blinked slowly. Pain shot through his head. He didn’t want to wake up. Not here at least. He wanted to wake up at home, or maybe at Rythian’s place. Having Zoeya dump water on him was definitely preferable to this. But the chances of him jolting up covered in ice while Zoeya shrieked with laughter were diminishing with every second.

“Lalna, can you hear me?”

A hand tapped his cheek. It was large and warm, smooth. Nano’s hands were smaller than that, Zoeya’s were colder. Rythian’s were covered in calluses and scars. No one he knew had hands like that. Maybe this wasn't a dream. Lalna shifted away, trying to sit up. The bindings on his wrists were too tight to allow him more than a couple inches of leverage, but it was better than lying down. His head pulsed like a heart sat at the back of his skull.

“Glad to see you’re awake.” Ridge smiled. There was something off about his smile.

Lalna looked again at the straps on his wrists. Last thing he remembered… Last thing he knew. “DoG?”

“DoG?” Ridge shook his head, “Oh, my people captured that criminal when we rescued you and your friend.”

“That… how?” Lalna pulled against the bands trying to pull them loose.

"Hmm?” Ridge’s eyebrows shot up. The corners of his mouth pulled down. “What? Is something wrong?”

When Lalna did not reply, Ridge leant forward, almost uncomfortably close, “Are you confused as to why you’re strapped to a table?”

Lalna nodded slightly, still looking at the bands . None of this made sense. How was the most powerful villain in all of Mistral city defeated so easily? How was he, Lalna, still alive at this point? And why would his rescuer tie him to a table?

“Well, you see” Ridge leant back again. His tongue passed across his upper lip. A carefully measured pause fell between them. “This villain, DoG, has a rather bad habit of using hypnosis to control people and until I can verify that you aren’t being controlled by him, I’m afraid you’re just going to have to stay tied up.”

That made sense. Some sense at least, but still, something was off. Lalna pulled against the restraints once again and frowned. Gathering the courage to speak he tried to look at Ridge, but finding it too difficult he settled for looking at the far wall, “Why is the mayor here instead of some doctors or something then?”

“You sound suspicious of me Lalna,” Ridge mused, tapping his chin, “Perhaps DoG had made you think there was reason to be cautious of me?”

“I-I...um I don’t think DoG did anything to me.” Lalna said. And he was sure that nothing had happened to him. He tried to look sincerely at Ridge, but it was like the mayor's eyes repelled his own. Eye contact truly was the bane of his existence.

“Well you wouldn’t know, given how hypnotism works.” Ridge pointed out.

“You, uh, didn't answer my question.” Lalna said, looking up at the ceiling. He didn't have to look at Ridge. Especially not when he was acting this strange.

“What question?”

“Why you? Why not someone else?” Lalna asked. He looked around. “Also, where are we?”

Ridge considered him for a moment. His eyes narrowed and he reached behind him, bringing forth a pile of clothing. More specifically a t-shirt and a lab coat. Suddenly Lalna became very aware of the fact that he was not, in fact, wearing a shirt. His face flushed pink and he had to swallow back any anxiety.

“Well, when I discovered these on you,” He pulled out the three vials. SS-1, SS-2, and SS-3, “And I became curious. I am something of a scientist myself and so, while you were...out I took a look in that little notebook of yours. I haven't been able to decipher all of the code, but from what I can guess these seem to be some form of super serum.”

“I-er…” Lalna muttered, pulling against the straps almost unconsciously.

“Now, I understand that these have not been tested yet, but the potential is astonishing,” Ridge was back to leaning uncomfortably close again, “I needed to ask if, by chance, you would not mind, working for me and complete this experiment of yours.”

“Why?” Lalna asked. He was certain DoG had done nothing to him, and the mayor was acting more than suspicious. There was a nagging voice in his head that reminded him of Ridge’s anti-supers speeches.

“Think of the advantages of this, if this was developed and used to its full potential, imagine the benefits.” Ridge was smiling, but the same intimidating smile. Too wide. It was more like he was bearing his teeth.

“You’ve always been anti-hero.” Lalna said. His voice was quiet and he couldn't manage to look Ridge in the eye, but still he pushed himself onto his elbows. It was difficult and painful but he managed to prop himself up enough to look straight into Ridge's shoulder. “Why would you suddenly want more supers running around?”

Ridge looked stricken. He backed up slightly while Lalna pushed himself further up. The straps cut hard into his arms, but still he sat up further. “Maybe you work for DoG.”

“That’s absurd.” Ridge said, but with the same smile. “DoG must have done something to make you suspect me.”

“Maybe DoG did something to you. None of this makes sense otherwise." Lalna's voice cracked as he said it. His heart was beating uncomfortably fast and fear knotted his stomach. If he wasn’t right… but it would be worse if he was, wouldn’t it?

Immediately Ridge's expression shifted into a large smirk. He sighed almost wistfully, “I’m disappointed Lalna.”

“What?” Lalna gulped. His voice was almost an inaudible squeak now. 

“With how people described you as a ‘genius’ and all, I didn’t think it would take you this long to figure it out.” Ridge smiled. Even wider than before, but just as aggressive. “And you still haven’t figured out the best bit.”

“What best bit?” Lalna’s lips started wobbling. How dignified he must look, writhing shirtless on a table. 

“Well, you assume I work for DoG,” Ridge’s smile curled into a Cheshire-Cat-like sneer, “Did you not consider that maybe I am DoG?”

“You… You’re DoG.” Lalna muttered, shifting away the few inches he could manage. He could feel his skin breaking underneath the restraints. Lalna wanted to say something. Maybe beg for his life? Or perhaps throw an insult? All that came out of his mouth however was a strangled gurgle.

“Even if your powers of deduction are a bit… lacking,” Ridge-DoG said, inspecting a test tube, “Your work is rather impressive.”

Lalna looked around. His mind was racing, assessing the best way to escape. Surgical knives lay next to DoG, but they were just out of reach.

“Tell me Lalna-“ DoG said, smirking.

The cuffs might be too tight to pull his whole hand through, but if he could just pull his hand a few inches in he might be able to reach back and undo the buckle.

“People rarely do things without reason-“ DoG continued.

If he could undo the buckle then he could snatch one of the knives and possibly make a swipe at DoG. That might give him enough time to get his legs free.

“So tell me-“ DoG’s eyes bored into Lalna’s.

DoG must have more experiments in his Lab. Maybe one that could hold DoG off? Pretty farfetched, but not impossible. If he had a few minutes Lalna was sure that he could construct a communication device and inform Rythian and Zoeya of where he was.

“What was your reason for creating this?” DoG held up one of the vials.

It took Lalna a few minutes to realize that DoG had fallen silent. He was too busy constructing a plan. He had half convinced himself that there was a possible way of escaping when DoG cleared his throat loudly.

“Lalna,” DoG said in a cold voice, “What is the point of me talking if you are not listening?”

“I-” Lalna had to stop himself from apologizing.

“Now, let me repeat my question,” DoG said, “Why did you create this? What allure did you see in making artificial super powers? Perhaps you wished to use it on yourself?”

If DoG were Nano, questioning him about the test tubes he might try to pretend that it was only because he thought supers were cool and he wished he could be one. If Rythian questioned him while they were both drunk, Lalna might have cried on his shoulder about how fucking useless he felt he was, just being a chubby science geek. If Zoeya had asked, he probably would have been coerced into a serious response. He couldn’t tell DoG anything. Wanting to keep the conversation going to buy himself time, Lalna said, “I dunno.”

“Of course you were,” DoG laughed, he put that same smile back on, teeth bared like he was going to attack, “That’s all mortals ever want. Power.” DoG drummed his fingers on Lalna’s chest.

Lalna pulled his hand further into the cuff, just another inch or so. Just a little more…

“And,” DoG withdrew his hand, scratching four red marks into Lalna’s skin, “I can see how being friends with those supers could make you crave power more than the average human.”

Lalna could just barely scrape the buckle with his fingers if he bent his wrist as far as it would go. He just needed to fit a finger in between the strap and pull.

“I understand that you and my son are rather close,” DoG said, “You never had any need to feel envious of him though. Nothing more than a failed experiment.”

“Son?” Lalna stopped midway through pulling apart the buckle.

“Yes, I was the one who created Rythian,” DoG replied. He leaned so close that Lalna could feel his breath on his face, “Did he not tell you?”

“I know you created him,” Lalna said, his voice wavering. Just a few more seconds and he would be able to punch DoG straight in the jaw, “But I don't think you can call him your son.”

“Well, I created him.” DoG frowned. “So why shouldn't I call him my son?”

Lalna could remember the first time he saw Rythian, he appeared to be no more than a teenager, though in reality he had only been about five years old with an accelerated growth. “You don't know how long it took for him to trust me? After the hell you put him through, he isn't your son.”

“Why do I care if my child needs therapy? He’s a failed experiment. Not of much use to anybody.”

Lalna never knew if DoG had more to say on the subject of Rythian. Around that time he had managed to undo the cuff on his wrist. He had also become too overcome with fury that his hand went directly to DoG’s face before crashing down onto the tray of tools. Lalna snatched up the first one his hand fell upon and swung upwards. A measured hit cut deep into Dog’s neck, splattering Lalna in blood. The normally fatal hit would only slow the villain down so Lalna wasted as little time as possible undoing his other arm. He sat up and managed to start unbuckling his second ankle when a hand gripped him from the scruff of his neck.

Lalna grappled behind his head. One hand finding DoG’s powerful hand fixed to his neck, the other burying itself into DoG’s hair. He tugged violently, only earning a small grunt of frustration and a surge of electricity passing through his neck.

“Argh!” Lalna screamed in pain and he flopped limply back onto the table. Dog’s arm slammed onto his neck, cutting off his cry of pain. His hands scraped weakly at DoG's, trying to lessen the weight on his neck. He couldn’t breathe.

DoG held one of the knives to Lalna’s lips, which were open and gasping for air he couldn’t get. DoG panted heavily, perfect hair askew. He pressed the blade to Lalna until the tip broke skin. “You know, I was a little undecided on what I was going to do to you,” He muttered, “But now I know. I’m going to cut off the arm you just slashed my jugular with.”

Lalna couldn’t scream as DoG pressed the knife into his bicep. DoG shook his head tutting, “Now, now, now. That’s no fun. I need to hear you scream.” He released some of the pressure he was putting on Lalna’s windpipe. “Come on now, scream.”

Lalna gasped and spluttered, trying to get as much air as possible into his lungs. His head swam from lack of oxygen, and only got worse as DoG shoved the knife even deeper. The urge to comply and cry out in pain swelled, but he didn't. Instead he looked DoG straight in his eyes and said, in a loud clear voice, “Go fuck yourself.”

The knife was yanked from his arm and DoG began suffocating him again. “Such language. After I get rid of this arm, I think I’m going to cut out that tongue of yours.” He placed the knife back at Lalna’s lips. “Then, oh who knows? But soon you’ll learn to behave, and you’ll help me whether you like it or not.”

* * *

 

In the other room Nano was just stirring, woken by agonized screams. She knew Lalna’s voice anywhere.


	3. Last Words

Nano’s legs ached in their forced standing position and her hands were beginning to lose circulation after being held above her head for so long. Had it been ten hours? Twenty? Time slipped by like molasses in here, with no way of telling when the waiting would end.

She looked up at the cuffs around her hands and then at the ones on her feet and then around the room, just as she had done a million times. In that same order. Each time contemplating how quickly she would be able to escape if she could just get one of the damn handcuffs off.

Nano was exhausted from the constant fighting to loosen the restraints. So she hung on her arms in a half-assed effort to break the straps. Nothing she had tried had worked and just hanging there as her hands went purple due to lack of oxygen was all she could do now. As much as she told herself that she would know exactly what to do if she managed to get free, the reality was that she knew nothing behind the door just a few feet in front of her. She had no idea where to go or even where Lalna might be.

But, as a rule, Nano had always refused to give up on anything. Ever. This was the closest she had ever come to surrendering. But, honestly, after ten (twenty?) hours of continuous struggling and scheming and being no closer to being free then she had been when she had first woke,she was running low on ideas.

All she could do now was wait and hope that something would happen, or inspiration would suddenly strike. Waiting as it turned out, was very difficult. Doing nothing when you know that your best friend who in all likelihood, is very very dead, was in trouble. But all Nano could do was stand there, staring at the door, which was her only path to DoG.

“When DoG’s finally defeated,” Nano muttered to herself. Her hands balling into fists above her head. Nails digging into her palms, “I’m going to be the one to kill him.”

She glance up at a camera in the corner of the room. She glared at it letting all her anger, frustration and sadness out in one outburst, “You hear me DoG!? Once I get out of here, you better watch out ‘cause the second you let your guard down, you’re dead, mate. You hear me? Dead!”

The rusted hinges of the door creaked slowly. Fear mixed in with the pain and rage compressing her chest. DoG stood behind that door. The most menacing villain in all of minstrel city, and for all her threats and screaming, she still had no powers. What chance did she have?

The door opened fully and in the entrance way stood Ridge. Mayor or the city.

“No…” was all Nano could say. It couldn’t be.

“Good morning,” Ridge said pleasantly. He walked with such fluidity that it was almost unnatural. He froze a few paces from Nano and looked genuinely concerned as he asked, “Is everything okay?”

Recovering from her shock enough to fake confidence, Nano rolled her eyes. “Yeah,” Sarcasm in her voice even as it wavered, “Being kidnapped by a psychopath who probably killed my best friend is going pretty great.”

DoG blinked at her. “You know then?” He asked. Plainly put off by this unexpected turn of events.

“Know? Know what?” Nano said. She looked at him in confusion. “You mean know that you’re DoG?

DoG nodded.

“ ‘Course I bloody know!” She bellowed, “It’s obvious.”

“Well I mean…” DoG said. He began pacing. He took measured steps, as though a lot of thought was put into where his feet would fall. Like he was walking on a mine field, “I was told that Lalna was the smart one.” He stopped very suddenly in front of her, his sickly humid breath falling on Nano’s face. DoG licked his lips, and Nano craned her neck, trying to put as much distance between herself and him. “But it took him much longer to actually suspect something, and he never figured out who I really was. I actually had to _tell_ him.”

“You don’t have to tell me that Lalna’s an idiot.” Nano scoffed. As she said his name it was like a physical blow hit her in the gut. Lalna was probably dead and she had just called him an idiot. What a great friend she was.

“Was.” DoG corrected, tone light.

His face only got smugger when Nano leaned as far forward as she could, face an inch from DoG’s chest. She was furious, like ripping throats out with her teeth furious. She was also sad, like curl up in a ball and scream for hours sad. Unable to contain her emotions anymore, she wasn’t certain if tears of rage or tears of despair dripped down her cheeks as she said in a voice that was no more than a ragged whisper, “Was what?”

“Well, you said that Lalna _is_ an idiot,” DoG said, clearly relishing the reaction he was getting out of her, “I was merely correcting you. Lalna _was_ an idiot.”

Nano screamed. Every emotion that can be associated with loss coursed through her. She wanted to fight hard against her bindings and wring DoG’s neck, but instead her scream stopped. Stopped and she went slack. The only thing holding her upright now were the bindings on her wrists. Her best friend. Lalna. He was past tense. Not present tense and never again a future tense. Lalna was stupid. He wasn’t being stupid and he would never be stupid again. Through her anger and sadness, she managed to bring out some words of defiance, “Go fuck yourself.”

“You know,” DoG said casually, as though they were discussing how a movie compared to the book it was based off of, “Those were his last words. They could be yours too.”

“Well I hope those are my last words,” She growled. And through pain, pride swelled in her chest. Lalna had gone down fighting. Crippling social anxiety and all, he managed to stand up to DoG. If he could, she certainly could as well. She could not give up. Not even now. “I don’t care what you do to me. Lalna died fighting, and so can I.” Nano spat hard into his face.

DoG staggered backwards, wiping saliva from his eye. A bewildered expression fixed on his face. He blinked in puzzlement, giving Nano a moment of satisfaction. Then he opened his mouth in something that was half smile, half snarl. He barked out a laugh and said in a voice so rough it could not belong to the man who had spoken moments before. “Who said Lalna was dead.”

“W-What did you do with him then?” Fear and confusion held her more still than any bindings could. The screams she had heard earlier were so loud, so blood curdling. Lalna must have died. DoG had even told her his last words. How could he not be dead?

DoG’s smile widen with Nano’s confusion. He raised a hand which seemed to hold a small remote like device. He pushed one of the buttons and said, in a voice as clear as that he gave his speeches with, “L.A.L. come in here.”

The hinges whined as the door opened a crack. Then the gap grew wider and wider, slowly creaking until there was enough room to walk through.

Lalna stomped in clumsily, like he was standing on new legs. He looked around the room, and for a millisecond, just before Nano could take in exactly what she was seeing, she thought that Lalna was fine, he was alright. Not dead.

Then Lalna’s gaze passed through her, not a hint of recognition in his eyes. That’s when it hit her. This wasn’t Lalna.

Now Nano realized what DoG had done. Half his face was covered in metal. An arm, both his legs, mechanical as well. Just thinking about this being why Lalna was screaming so deafeningly loudly made her stomach churn. Images of him strapped to some medical table while DoG removed each of his limbs flashed in front of her face. It was like someone was strangling her. Like her heart was pumping too much blood into her neck. She was going to vomit. She retched, spattering the floor with sick.

“Eu-ick.“ DoG jumped backwards, but not quickly enough, “Hey! I just bought these shoes!“ He complained indignantly.

“Lalna?” Nano coughed, her voice shaking. She couldn’t even look at him.

She didn’t hear any indication that Lalna had moved or made any response, so she tried again. A little louder than before, “Lalna.”

Nothing.

“LAL,” DoG said, “Is my newest creation.”

Nano looked back up to see his hand on Lalna’s shoulder. Lalna did not flinch at the physical contact like he normally would have. Lalna just stood there, looking through Nano. DoG continued, “LAL stands for the Lethal Anti-hero eLiminator, do you like it?”

Nano just stared at Lalna and he just stared back. Was this going to happen to her? Turned into a puppet that DoG controlled. Like his DoG House minions. Nano swallowed. This couldn’t be happening. She was breathing too hard and too fast. Everything was spinning and she felt like she was going to faint.

“Lalna.” She found herself saying. Like if she said it enough he might stop staring at her like she wasn’t his best friend. Like he didn’t know her.

“LAL.” DoG said in a commanding tone. Lalna turned his head to look at him. “Take this.” DoG handed Lalna a syringe filled with some kind of purple liquid.

“What’s that?“ She asked, unable to look away from the syringe in Lalna’s hand. The hand with the drunk tattoo on its wrist.

“Now LAL, I want you to stand next to Nano,“ DoG said, completely ignoring her question.

“What’s that? “ Nano asked again as Lalna stumbled over, not even bothering to step over the puddle of sick.

“Good, now just wait there.” DoG told Lalna. He finally looked at Nano and with a pleasant smile asked, “What was your question?”

“I asked you ‘what the hell is in that syringe?’.” Nano repeated, still staring at it intently.

“Huh,” DoG said, “I just assumed you would know, or has your so-called best friend not told you what he’s been working on in that little laboratory of yours?”

“That’s what was in those vials?” Nano asked. She wrenched her eyes from the syringe to look at DoG.

“Yes, the super serum that Lalna was working on.”

“He never told me what those were,” She mumbled.

“Really? Never?” DoG said in mock surprise. “Let me guess, he never told you how much he wished he was a super? Nothing about how jealous he was?”

Nano just glared at him. No, Lalna had not told her any of that stuff. She respected his privacy and when he didn’t want to discuss something she dropped it. Suggesting that Lalna hadn’t trusted her was ludicrous. These stupid mind games wouldn’t work.

“I thought not.” DoG smiled like baring teeth. “And I assume that you also do not know that it’s untested. I was thinking that you would make a great test subject.”

Nano’s eyes widened. She began thrashing against her binding’s harder than ever before. “No,” Was all she could say.Over and over. Louder and more desperate each time.

“LAL hold her still.”

At DoG’s instruction Lalna’s mechanical arm wrapped around Nano’s forearm. She could feel bruises forming beneath his cool grip.

“Lalna. Lalna, please. Please Lalna,” She was begging now. Her head shaking, just looking up at Lalna’s expressionless face. The syringe hovering over her arm while he waited for further instruction. “I don’t know what he did to you, but you have to fight it, okay? You need to do this. Come on Lalna. Please.”

“Inject her.” DoG instructed.

The needle move towards her skin.

“Lalna, please!” Nano yelled. She could have sworn he hesitated then. Lalna, she was sure, paused. He blinked, recognition returned to his eyes, but then he blinked again and his eyes were glazed and unseeing once more. The needle drove into her skin and before she could yell a second time, the syringe was empty.

The reaction was instantaneous. The place the needle pierced stung. Then it spread, burning in her veins, crisscrosses of purple climbing up her skin. Her mouth was pulled wide in a long scream. She couldn’t move her arm any more. It was stuck, hurting more than she could handle. She was going to black out. She was going to die.

“Come LAL,” DoG said, beckoning to him like he was some bizarre pet, “We’ll find out tomorrow if she survives.”

With one last look at Nano, Lalna followed DoG out the door.

Maybe it was what ever was pumping through her veins, maybe her vision was just too blurry to see properly, but Nano could swear that with that final look Lalna gave er a look, plainly meaning 'I am sorry.'

\--

Nano awoke laying on a recently cleaned floor. She looked at her hand which was now much longer than it had been before. Her entire arm was purple. Spikes protruded from her shoulders and from seemingly random areas of her arm. She tried moving her fingers, testing each out in turn. Well she could take comfort in one thing at least.

Her hand seemed to be working.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the 'flux was made by Lalna' thing isn't canon, but I didn't know what flux was and so I made it up.


	4. Unimaginable

“Is he there?”

Zoeya’s voice rang out loudly from the communicator on Rythian’s wrist. Seeming to be amplified by the lack of noise around him. Rythian brought his arm up to his mouth, pressing a small button on the communicator, “I don’t see him.”

“Well of course you don’t. He wouldn't be in the kitchen. If he were working on a science project for a week then he might have forgotten to eat again,” Zoeya explained. Somehow she sounded simultaneously confident and as though she was grasping at straws. Something only Zoeya could do, “And so he’s probably just passed out in his lab. It’ll be just like last time.”

“I thought you could see through the cameras,” Rythian said, walking further down the small kitchen.

“Well, yeah, but I can’t see everything,” Zoeya said. Probably rolling her eyes, “ There are blind spots.”

“Fair enough.” Rythian sighed, deciding not to contradict Zoeya. If she sounded hopeful at the idea of finding a half-dead Lalna in a blind spot of the camera’s view, then she must have been imagining some pretty gruesome fates.

He continued down the kitchen, pausing only to step over a toppled fire extinguisher. He walked into the actual laboratory, noting that the room looked fairly well-kept. Well, for Lalna anyway. A test tube rack was askew and some of the cupboards were ajar. The linoleum floor was scuffed especially near the door, but other than that the room looked clean. And completely devoid of Lalnas.

“He’s not here.” Rythian said. A weight dropped somewhere in his chest. He’d let himself get hopeful even while trying to keep Zoeya from getting disappointed. Stupid.

“Wait, Rythian…”Zoeya’s voice trailed off. Rythian did as  told though and waited. When she did speak again, she sounded even more distressed than before, “Go back into the kitchen.”

He didn’t see much point, but he walked back over the fire extinguisher and into the kitchen none the less.

“Ryth,” Zoey said, “Look under the fire extinguisher.”

Hesitantly, Rythian obeyed. He didn’t see it at first, but as he crouched down to get a better look, he noticed something concerning. A rusted looking stain, crusted and dry, was almost hidden in the reflection of the bright fire extinguisher. He pushed it to get a better look. It rolled away, pulling up some of the dried blood as it went.

“Rythian, that’s blood.” Zoeya whined unnecessarily.

“It’s not much,” Rythian said. He stood back up and paced around it. It really wasn’t much blood. Enough that you would need a bandage, yes, but nothing life threatening. He poked at the puddle with his foot. None of it was liquid. “And it’s all dried. It’s been here a while.”

“Do you think…?”

The unfinished question hung in the air for a moment, but then Rythian shook his head, “Maybe it is his, but it really isn’t much. Lalna’s dealt with worse before.”

“Why is it still there though?” Zoeya asked, “Wouldn’t he have cleaned it up if he were here?”

“It might not be his,” Rythian shrugged, sounding calmer than he was, “I mean, the security system’s not on. ” He said, remembering how nothing happened as he broke in.

“Rythian, you don’t think that…” There was a pause, and both knew exactly which word she did not say.

“Someone,” She continued as though there was no gap in speech, “Disabled it to... to look for him?”

“Zoey, if Do-" Rythian hesitated. He took Zoeya’s lead in not mentioning the person who would be behind the kidnaping, if there was a kidnapping. "If anyone was looking for Lalna, they’d still have some trouble finding him.”

“But Rythian,” She whined, “What if something’s happened to him?”

“He’ll be alright. He just-“

_‘Is being an immature idiot about a stupid argument’_

“-doesn’t want to see us right now.”

“What did you say that was so bad he disappeared for a week, Ryth?” Zoeya asked. He couldn’t be sure if she was being rhetorical; a word he had learned not too long ago- where the asker did not intend to get a response- or if she was actually asking him. He stayed silent just in case.

“Answer me, Rythian.” She said.

“Honestly,” He sighed, “I didn’t say anything to him. He just started talking about being useless and then all of a sudden he storms out.”

“You didn’t try to stop him or anything?” Zoey asked. More disappointment than anger.

“Well…no.”

And everything was silent for a moment. Funny, how a lack of words could make him feel more guilty than any accusation could. Could he have stopped Lalna leaving? Could he have reminded Lalna of how much they cared about him? How much he cared about him.

Would Lalna be in this lab and not notch-knows-where if Rythian hadn’t just sat there and let him leave?

Rythian barely noticed when the quiet was disturbed by a slight tremor. The beakers made soft tinkling noises as the ground shook ever so slightly. He wouldn’t have noticed at all if it weren’t for the rhythmic sound that came as the shaking got closer.

Thunk

Thunk

Thunk

He turned to the door, where the noise was moving towards,as well as the epicenter of each heavy footfall. Just as his gaze met the door two things happened: One, Zoeya’s scream of ‘Rythian!’ was drowned out by, Two, the door fell off of its hinges to reveal a man. A man who had an arm and two legs had made from metal, and a man that Rythian himself knew well. In fact, he had just been looking for him.

“Lalna!” He called, relieved. Lalna was alright, he was alive. Lalna was alive, and yet he had not answered his phone. Had not texted back. He had allowed both Rythian and Zoeya to worry about him because he was an immature idiot. Rythian sounded less relieved and more angry when he yelled,  “I have been calling you for days, you don’t return my calls, you don’t answer Zoey’s messages-“

Rythian’s eyes darted around Lalna’s face, looking for a hint of expression, guilt. Something. All he saw was that his face was now half metal. A twinge of guilt tugged at his stomach. Had Lalna done this to himself? Had he made himself this metal monstrosity out of envy or resentment after Rythian could not answer him? Could not tell him that he was special and great and important.

“-and when I finally find you, you’ve turned yourself into a stupid metal machine!? “ He bellowed. His own shame at letting Lalna walk out that night mixing with his anger at Lalna, “Are you nuts?!”

When no reply came, except for Lalna’s heavy footed walk into the Laboratory, Rythian continued to yell. Even as Lalna’s back was turned to him, without even a glance thrown his way. “I demand you to turn back!”

“Please.” He continued when, yet again, there was no reply. Lalna was probably going to ignore him until he apologized. “I’m sorry about…”

Lalna turned back to face Rythian. For a second Rythian thought that he was going to listen to him, but then he raised the hand that was made from metal and pointed it in Rythian’s direction. From the end, a great ball of light gathered and Rythian had just enough time to say, in fear and confusion, “Lal?” before it was shot straight at him.

Rythian was quick though. Before the laser had so much as left the palm of the weaponized arm, Rythian had flopped onto the cold floor. A hole was blasted straight through the wall by a blue-white laserbeam. Before Lalna could fire again Rythian had jumped up and pulled himself out of the large chard hole.

“It’s just a bad dream, it’s just a bad dream, it’s just a bad dream…” Rythian could barely hear Zoeya chanting through the com-device. She was just louder than his rapidly beating heart and the sound of Lalna walking towards him on his new mechanical legs.

“Did you see that?!” He asked unnecessarily.

“Mhm.” Zoeya answered. Even though she had not said anything, she sounded more terrified that when Lalna was missing. “R-Rythian, I need you to get a closer look at his arm.”

“You mean the arm he just tried to kill me with?” Rythian questioned, perplexed.

“Rythian, please.”

He sighed, “Fine. But why?”

“I thought I saw-“ She began, only to be interrupted by the loud smashing of a door falling to the ground. She took a deep breath and tried again, even as the machinery laden Lalna marched through the hole in the wall where the door had been, “-I thought I saw, uh, DoG’s insignia on his arm.”

No.

“Zoey I-“

“Rythian, please just check!”

He took a deep breath. He could hear Lalna take a step closer and raise that mechanical arm at him. He could hear curious neighbors lean out of windows as they wondered what all the ruckus was. He could hear his own heart beat, hard and fast. In his chest. In his fingers. In his ears. He exhaled, “Fine.”

The same pale blue light shot out and several people screamed from the safety of their apartments. None cared about the man with the two faces who the blast had been aimed at. Not a single person who ran back into their homes to dial the authorities were to least bit relieved when the ender-human dove to the side, the beam passing above his shoulder. The people still screamed and cried like the blast had been aimed at them or someone they cared about.

“Lalna!” Rythian called from his prone position on the asphalt of the street. Lalna looked down at him. Still no expression and still no reply, unless a robotic arm aimed directly for his face counted. With one quick motion Rythian pushed himself to his feet and withdrew an alchemical grenade.

But no. He couldn’t throw this at Lalna. That would hurt him.

Instead, he threw the small pot as far away from himself as possible. Lalna turned to look where the potion landed. As the glass shattered, orange goop exploded everywhere and melted the road. Rythian took the opportunity to run at him. One hand ready to push the arm out of the way.

Lalna turned to face him, gun already raised and ready to fire. Rythian dove at it. The point of the laser was forced downward. Its ray cracked the street, leaving a crater behind. Lalna wrenched his arm upwards, flinging Rythian off with ease.

Rythian’s arms scraped hard against the ground. Skin must have been peeled off and he winced as he stood. Now was no time to assess minor injuries though. The next laser missed him by an inch as he ducked swiftly under Lalna’s mechanical arm. This time he forced it upwards until the light shot straight up into the sky in some bizarre and deadly parody of a heavenly light.

“Lalna! Listen. To. Me.” Rythian grunted out. The effort of keeping Lalna’s arm from swinging down using nearly all of his strength.

Lalna's other hand, his real hand, grabbed Rythian by the arm and pulled, successfully dislodging him from underneath the metal arm. Lalna’s arm swung down hard and now Rythian could see in plain view, DoG’s symbol.

Rythian had drawn his knife faster than Lalna to ready his cannon. With all the force he could possibly muster, he jammed the blade down the barrel of the laser, receiving an electric shock. Surprise causing him to disappear and reappear. The part enderman stood now on the far end of the street, thankful for his uncontrollable teleportation.

Sirens from not so far away could be heard as police vehicles rushed to break up the fight in the street.

“It really is DoG’s symbol.” Rythian confirmed. He breathed hard into the communicator.

“Are you sure?” Zoeya asked, hoping that he was wrong.

Rythian thought back to the first time he had ever opened his eyes. That symbol had been right there. It was impossible to forget something like that. “Yes.”

“But Rythian, what happened?” Zoeya stressed, “What are we going to do?”

“I-“He was cut short as he dove to the side just in time. A great claw-like hand swiped at him from behind.

“Oohoo! He is a quick one, isn’t he?” A cackling voice trilled.

Rythian rolled over onto his back, wiping bloody palms off on his pants as he did. Behind him was a short figure. If she had not turned to face him as he had for her then she would have been impossible to recognize. Half of her face, much like half of Rythian’s face, was not that of a normal human’s. Her arm was also large and distorted. Large growths protruded from the purple skin.

“Nano?” Zoeya sounded horrified.

“Someone say my name?” She asked, cocking her head, a wide grin cracked her face in two, “’Cause boy are my ears ringin’”

Nano lunged for Rythian, clearly aiming to kill as Lalna had done. He rolled out of the way and managed to kick Nano hard in the chest. She fell back, less of a grin on her face and more of a sneer. “Come on Enderboy,” She said, leaning in a pose that would suggest she was about to run a race, “It’ll be a lot less strain if you just stay still!”

On the last word she launched herself at him, fluxed arm extended to grab at his throat. The hand closed on air as he let himself fall back onto the ground. Rythian kicked up at her hand, which flew upwards. He pushed himself back up and took off running down the street. Without a backwards glance he lobbed a pot over his shoulder, hearing it explode on the ground behind him. There was a shrill shriek as well.

Nano’s gaze swept across the street, hissing as she held the burned flesh of her arm. Her eyes narrowed on a spot, some twenty meters up the street where Rythian was testing the knee he had landed on.

“L.A.L.!” She yelled at her Cyborg companion, “Fetch.”

Lalna obeyed. His bone crushing grip was on Rythian’s arm before he could so much as think of a plan.

“Lalna,” Rythian begged, knowing it was useless, “Lalna it’s me.”

The metal hand gripped tighter on his arm. Rythian could feel the bone cracking from underneath it. It was hard not to think of Lalna was just another DoG House goon. None of them had signed up to work for DoG. None of them had been asked, yet he had no qualms killing them. Why should Lalna be any different?

As Nano approached, taking her time to walk down the street, Rythian brought the hand that was not being crushed up in front of himself. It would be quick, easy. Lalna wouldn’t have wanted to have been made to work for DoG. Rythian extended his hand to touch his skin. How hard could it be? He had almost killed Zoey by accident, surely he could end Lalna in the same way.

“Rythian! Don’t!” Zoeya screamed and he stopped. Rythian’s hand, a mere inch from Lalna’s chest.

“Well, well, well, enderboy,” Nano said, grin appearing on her face yet again, “Fancy seeing you here.” Her arm lit up with some kind of glowing energy, and Rythian knew if he didn’t do something now he was dead.

Rythian brought his free hand up to Lalna’s arm. As the metallic arm vanished, Rythian’s arm broke, the bone splintering. The memory of another hand he had done the same to resurfaced. Zoeya’s arm, once there and then all of a sudden gone. Blood everywhere, just like the blood that now dripped from where his own bone protruded from his skin.

He gathered up the energy to teleport away, as far away as he could.

“Oh no you don’t!” Nano yelled, her twisted, mangled arm slashed at him just at the first sparks appeared and he vanished from sight.

As soon as Rythian had reappeared he smashed hard into a brick wall, high up. He fell back knocking into the second side of the alley he had appeared in. He landed with a rather loud thump inside of a half full dumpster. His eyes slowly drifted closed.

* * *

 

“Zoey, I found him.” Lomadia said into the com-device on her wrist.

“Where?” Zoeya asked, her voice high-pitched, but relieved. Lomadia couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. One missing friend turns up after DoG had gotten to him and then another disappears immediately after. “Is he alright?”

Lomadia peered down into the dumpster she had found Rythian in. He was faintly stirring, bleeding from his arm and head. But his chest moved up and down. “In an alleyway downtown. And, he’s alive.”

“But…?” Zoey prompted.

“Well, I’m no doctor, but he’s definitely got a compound fracture,” She said as she bent to touch the purple and swollen arm, which bone protruded from. Rythian groaned in pain when her hand brushed sore skin and his eyes opened a fraction. “He seems to be getting up, but his nose seems a bit crooked, and from that footage you showed me from when he went missing, I’d guess his ankle’s sprained as well.”

“If you can just bring him back home,” Zoey said, urgently, “Then I’ll take care of him.”

“Right.” Lomadia stepped into the dumpster, pulling a face beneath her mask as one of the garbage bags burst from under her foot. She continued to ease herself down into the filth, making sure not to step on Rythian. “Rythian, I’m going to help you up.”

Rythian merely blinked a few times at the hand Lomadia had extended to help him up. She gripped his non-injured arm, “Rythian.”

Rythian looked back up at her, at least some understanding on his face. He tried to push himself up with his other hand, not seeming to realize that it was broken. He came crashing back down, hissing in pain when any weight was put onto the injured arm.

“Rythian, stop being an idiot and get up.” Lomadia said. She was already annoyed enough having to work tonight.

With one hand over his arm and the other wrapped around him, Lomadia hoisted Rythian up with little effort on his part. He almost crashed back down when she stopped supporting him. Lomadia caught him before he could fall into the garbage. “Geez, what’s wrong with you?”

“I, uh, my head hurts.” Rythian stated rather stupidly, his speech sloshing together slightly like he was drunk.

“Ah shit,” She muttered to herself. Lomadia brought her wrist to her mouth, “Zoey, I think your friend might have a bit of a bad concussion.”

“Are you sure?” Zoeya asked, concerned.

“Rythian?” Called to get his attention. He squinted up at her like there was too much light, or he was suspicious of her. “How do you feel? Seeing double? Nauseous?”

“Double, yeah,” He said vaguely, gesturing at Lomadia and then somewhere off to her left, “Two of you.”

“I’m pretty sure,” She said into the communicator, “It seems bad. He’s pretty out of it. Should I call an ambulance?”

“No, it’s fine. Just bring him back here.” Zoeya said, “I’ll take care of him.”

“Really Zoey, he’s not alright. With that arm in somewhere at filthy as this, and his head. He needs a professional.”

“I don’t think most doctors would know how to treat an ender-human.” Zoeya laughed shakily and humorlessly.

“Zoey…”

“Just bring him back home, okay?”

“Alright,” Lomadia sighed. She took out her phone from an inner pocket of her costume and dialed Xephos.

Rythian tapped her shoulder as the phone called Xephos. Lomadia turned to look up at him. He spoke slowly, as though to compensate for his speech slurring, “Um, do you know what happened? What’s with my arm?”

“Uh…” Lomadia couldn’t think of a way to explain. Xephos picking up his phone was a godsend.

“It’s almost midnight Lom,” Xephos sounded more tired than annoyed. “Do you need help with something or-or,” He yawned loudly, “Research or whatever?”

Lomadia held up her hand to Rythian in a ‘just a moment’ gesture “I need a ride, can you bring the car over?”

Xephos grumbled something indistinguishable and there was a sound of creaking bed springs. “Where?”

“Downtown,” She peered out of the alleyway for any landmarks, “across from the Strife Solutions tower.” Lomadia told him. There had been a time when Lomadia’s phone calls had been met with fussing and concern and ‘Why?’s. She was grateful for the trust.

“So not only do you get dragged off to help with some search on the one night we both have completely free of work and grading in over a month, but now I have to drive all the way down town-“

“I’m sorry, okay?” Lomadia huffed, “It’s not my fault. Miniata needed help looking for Rythian. Was I supposed to just say no?”

“Sorry, sorry. I was just looking forward to tonight.”

“I was too.”

“Love you ‘Mads.”

“Love you too Xeph.”

She hung up and slipped her phone back into her pocket and turned back to Rythian.  He was staring off vacantly, leaning on the back of the dumpster Lomadia just realized she was still standing in. “Come on Rythian,” She said, fixing one hand around him and trying to move him out of the garbage.

He moved with her guidance, almost forgetting his injured arm when it came to clambering over the metal edge of the bin. Lomadia stopped him from using his mangled arm though, carefully easing him over and onto actual ground.

Rythian swayed on the spot for a moment, falling heavily onto the alley wall before Lomadia could catch him again. “Woah, woah, Rythian.”

“I-“ He winced in pain, “I-“

“Rythian.” She repeated trying to steady him.

“Lomadia?” He asked, as though unsure she was actually there.

“Yeah?”

“Um, was, I remember Lalna…” He said. He paused for a moment. “I thought I remembered Lalna and Nano. They tried to kill me.”

It wasn’t a question, so Lomadia didn’t answer. She hadn’t been asked to fill in blanks or make conversation. She had only been asked to find Rythian and bring him home.

Lomadia didn’t want to talk about what happened to Lalna. She couldn’t imagine something like that happening to someone so close to her. A best friend, family, turned into a monster intent on killing you and innocent people. It sounded like her worst nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading the first part of this superyogs fanfic. I'm hoping on writing the next part soon, but I have a lot of school work right now.


End file.
